The 21st Thessaloniki Documentary Festival (TDF, 1-10 March) wrapped last night with Rachel Leah Jones and Philippe Bellaiche's Advocate[+leggi anche: trailerscheda film] winning the Golden Alexander Award for Best Documentary in the international competition, which comes with a cash prize of €8,000. The film also picked up the FIPRESCI Award.

The Israeli-Canadian-Swiss co-production, which had its international premiere at TDF, is the story of Lea Tsemel, a Jewish-Israeli lawyer who has represented Palestinian defendants in court for nearly 50 years without a shred of prejudice: from feminists to fundamentalists; from non-violent demonstrators to armed militants.

Evangelidis' latest film, Irving Park, which screened out of competition but was eligible for the newly established Mermaid Award for Best LGBTQI+ Documentary, won this very prize, with Vadym Ilkov's My Father Is My Mother's Brother[+leggi anche: recensionetrailerscheda film] receiving a Special Mention.

The Danish-UK title Songbird by Lucy Greenwell triumphed in the VR Films competition and received €3,000. The movie is described as a fairy tale with a dark heart, whisking us away to the island of Kauai in 1984 and into a replica of a lush forest filled with colourful birds.